Gun Shot Residue
by King Saige
Summary: "It's simply, really." Edward insisted. "Either you marry me so I can be sure you won't testify about what you saw, or I put a bullet in your head. Keep in mind that I already promised your daughter that I was going to be her new daddy and I'd rather not break my promise." Bella Swan's life changed the moment she saw Edward end Cauis Volturi's life. But was it really for the worst?
1. Gun Shot

"You're late." Lauren sneered as if I hadn't already known that and I didn't even bother to try not to roll my eyes as I stamped my time card and put it back with the others.

When I started working at the Cyprus Hotel, I had just decided it was something I'd do while I went to community college because I needed the money I had for bills and to feed my daughter. After graduating, I thought I'd be able to get another job, but the only one who offered enough for me to ditch the Cyprus required me to stay until midnight and leave every morning at seven. I did try to make it work, but it turns out that having a kid is a bit of a twenty-four seven gig.

Glaring at Lauren who sat munching on a bag of chips and wearing a uniform that was two sizes two small, I sighed. "Well, I'd be on time if I slept with the bosses husband like you do." She blanched, not realizing I knew that, but it wasn't like she was exactly discreet. Leaning on the table, I grabbed a chip from her bag. "I wonder what Irina will say when somebody finally gets the balls to tell her." With a quick smile, I popped the chip into my mouth before depositing my purse in my locker and started on my tasks for the day.  
Despite the fact that I did hold myself to a higher standard than Lauren, we were both stuck here doing the same job; scrubbing toilets and refilling minibars.

So, for the next twelve hours, that's exactly what I did; from seven in the morning to seven in the evening, I scrubbed the toilets, made the beds, refilled the minibars and vacuumed the floor of every room on floors six to seventeen and, by the time I was finished, I regretted covering the shift for my sick co-worker, but I wouldn't take back the offer. Lord knew I needed the money; the Cyprus barely paid minimum wage.

After I was finished with the last room, I went back down to the first floor and got my purse from my locker, intent on picking up my daughter from the babysitter that watched her while I worked. I honestly couldn't wait until Elizabeth's birthday in a couple of days because turning five meant I could finally enroll her in kindergarten. At least then I wouldn't feel guilty for working all the time and leaving her with Mrs. Cope.

"Isabella," Irina, my boss's voice called just as I was heading towards the door of the break room. "The penthouse suite needs more toilet paper and clean towels."

Sighing, I turned around to face her. "I just clocked out and I need to pick was Elizabeth."

"Please, Bella." She said, despite the fact that it wasn't a request, but an order. "Lauren's not allowed up their ever since the last person who booked the room found her in the shower on her lunch break and Kebi's already left. I'd do it, but I've got to pick up my mother from the airport." Sighing, once more, I grabbed my time card and stamped it. "Thank you, Bella." I heard Irina say in relief before she fled the break room.

Quickly making my way to the elevator after grabbing some toilet paper and a few clean towels, I slid my master key card into the slot underneath the floor numbers which lit up the button for the penthouse. Pressing it, I waited impatiently for the doors to close and for the elevator to stop moving.  
Since the penthouse was on the thirtieth floor, I had to wait about ten minutes to make it up with all the stops I was forced to make as people got on and off. Eventually, though, I got there.

The penthouse suit of the hotel was the most expensive room suit the Cyprus had at seven thousand dollars a night and consisted of the top three floors of the hotel. There were several different bedrooms, two living rooms (the second floor living room overlooking the pool), a kitchen, two offices, and several other amenities I couldn't name. I had only ever cleaned the penthouse once and that had been on my first day after some trust-fund babies trashed the entire thing during a graduation party. The things I had seen had not been pretty.

Dropping my bag near the elevator, I made my way to the bathroom. The only problem being that I had no idea which bathroom needed the toiletries, so I was forced to go through each one. After finding the ones on the first floor completely stocked, I went up to the second floor and then the third. By the time I finished checking them all, I got aggravated because every single bathroom had towels and toilet paper. The only bathroom I hadn't checked, I realized, had been the bathroom inside the second floor office.

"Why the hell couldn't they just get this shit from one of the million other bathrooms in this place?" I grumbled to myself. I knew I was being stupid- complaining for having to do my job- but I honestly couldn't be bothered to care at the moment.

Stopping in front of the office door, I didn't bother knocking, assuming that whoever booked the penthouse had made themselves scarce, and pushed open the door.

Unfortunately, I had been wrong.

Just as the door opened and I got a full view of everything and the three people inside and realized who each of them were, I realized that I was in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

There were three different people in the room; all of them were white, wearing expensive business suits, all with varying shades and styles of dark hair, but I knew who they all where; the one closest to the door with only the side of his face visible was Emmett McCarty; he had gone to prison for ten years after he was found guilty of murdering Aro Volturi, a gun smuggler from Italty; the man in the middle of Caius Volturi, Aro's brother, whose face had been plastered on every news station after his testimony sent Emmett McCarty to prison and on the left...the man on the left had a face that everyone knew.

Edward Cullen was the son of movie star Esme Platt and, for lack of a better word, mob boss Carlisle Cullen. Because of his mothers star status, the Cullen family business and all it's illegal dealings were brought into the public eye. Edward Cullen had gone to prison on six different occasions for different lengths of time, only to be let out when evidence was found of be tainted or witnesses mysteriously went 'missing'. His face had been on my TV screen more times than the local news reporter and there was no mistaking his bright green eyes for anyone else

Caius was on his knees with his hands tied behind his back and both Emmett and Edward held silencer equipped guns in their hands. It was only a split second after I figured out what was happening that the gun in front of Caius went off, sending a bullet through his head and his body crumpled to the ground. It was only when the two remaining men's heads turned to me that I realized that I had gasped. Thankfully, I seemed to spring into action faster than they did.

"Don't let her get away!" I heard one of them yell as I ran down the hallway and down the stairs. The only thing I could think about at the moment was getting away and staying away from those men.

Knowing that they would expect me to go to the elevator, that's what I did. I just didn't go to the one they'd expect; the service elevator was in the back of the suit on the first floor and I quickly got on before pressing the down button.

As soon as I made it to the ground floor, I ran; through the lobby, out of the service exit of the hotel and to the scrappy red truck of mine that sat in the parking lot, thankful that I kept my car key in my bra.

"What the fuck?!" I panted to myself, zooming down the streets at an illegal speed as I tried to get myself home. "Edward Cullen. You just had to walk in on Edward fucking Cullen killing someone. What the fuck, Bella?!"

I continued my self-chastising the entire time I drove home to my dingy little house on a street littered with trash and abandoned houses. It wasn't until I got to the front door that I realized that I left my purse at the hotel.

"Fuck!" I yelled before grabbing the out of place potted plant that sat next to my stoop. Dumping the plant and all of the dirt out, I grabbed the plastic baggie at the bottom that held a copy of my house key. With fumbling hand, I pulled it out and shoved it into the door before letting myself in. Somehow I was on autopilot as I went through the house and to my bathroom where I kept my stash of emergency cash. I had always had an emergency get away plan in place, but I never thought I'd have to use it because of something like this.

After grabbing my cash and shoving it into my bra, I went to the living room and grabbed the land-line phone from the reciever before dialing Mrs. Cope's number. She answered on the third ring. I was lucky, Mrs. Cope was a eighty five year old woman who took seven minutes to walk to the bathroom. "Hello?"

"Mrs. Cope, it's Bella." I told her as I paced around the coffee table, running my hand through my hair. "Something came up and I need to catch the train out of town. I know it's a lot to ask, but could you bring Elizabeth to the train station?"

"But your friend already came and picked little Ellie up." She insisted and I froze.

"What?" I demanded. "Who picked up Elizabeth?!"

"This very nice looking man." She said. "He was so handsome too. Oh, Isabella, I'm so glad you finally found someon-" But I couldn't hear anymore because I dropped the phone, not caring about being rude, and rushed to the door, intent on finding my daughter. Wrenching it open, my heart pounded in my chest when I saw who stood there.

There were four people standing on my stoop; a tall, blonde woman with bright blue eyes, a stoic looking man with a black suit and sunglasses and lastly, my little baby girl, who beamed up at me while holding the man who had just changed my life forever.

"Hi, mommy!" Elizabeth grinned, showing off the two front teeth she was missing before holding up long sock monkey. "Look what Mr. Edward got me!"


	2. Wedding Bells

Since I didn't do it last chapter; I don't own Twilight.

* * *

 _I can't control your behavior; nor do I want that burden...but I will not apologize for refusing to be disrespected, to be lied to, or to be mistreated. I have standards; step up or step out_

\- Steven Maraboli

* * *

"Elizabeth..." I couldn't take my eyes off of Edward as I held a hand out for my daughter and pulled her closer to me once she took it. I pulled her away and further into the living room as Edward and his companions entered the house. Kneeling down in front of her, I checked her for any injuries. "Are you okay?" I asked immediately. "Did they hurt you?"

She shook her head, finding my question funny. "No, mommy. Edward got me a monkey though." She held up the monkey again and I resisted the urge to take it and throw it out the window. My eyes flicked up to Edward who was talking quietly to the guy in sunglasses. "He said I could name her anything I want, so her name is Emily."

My eyes shifted back to Elizabeth when Edward suddenly looked away from sunglasses and to us. "That's a great name, sweetie."

"Rosalie," Edward said, but I kept my eyes on Elizabeth. "Why don't you take Elizabeth and help her pack." My eyes snapped to the blonde woman who walked forward and knelt down next to me and Elizabeth.

"Lizzy, do you want to show me where your room is?" She asked, her eyes radiating an comprehensible amount of empathy in the second they looked away from Elizabeth and to me.

Elizabeth turned her head. "Where are we going?"

The woman- Rosalie, shifted. "...That's up to your mommy and Edward. So, why don't we go to your room so they can decide, huh?"

"Rosalie," Edward said pointedly.

"Edward," She said back in the same tone of voice, tinged with a bit of annoyance. Standing up, Rosalie held out her hand for Elizabeth who took it without another thought. I struggled to let her go, but the last thing I wanted was to scare her. She hadn't been hurt yet and I intended to keep it that way.

Once they were both gone and out of earshot, I stood up and turned to Edward.

"I don't know what the hell you told her, but we're not going anywhere with you."

All my statement seemed to do was amuse him. With a smirk, he ordered away his goon without movie his eyes from mine.

"Felix," He said. "Go wait by the car." My eyes didn't leave his, even as we heard the door closed. Edward stepped forward, towards me and I had to resist the urge to take a step back. "Isabella," He began. "When it comes to leaving with me, you really don't have a choice in the matter."

"If you think I'm gonna let you put my daughter in danger, you've got another thing coming." I gritted out. "I won't say anything to anyone about what I saw- I promise. Just leave me and my daughter alone. We won't be a problem."

"I wish that were true." He said sincerely. "But there have been people trying to put me behind bars the second I turned eighteen. It's only a matter of time before they find Caius Volturi's body and find the mess I left at Cyprus- which," He injected. "I would've been taking care of if I didn't have to go chasing after you. Either way, when they do find the blood in the hotel, they'll pull up the security cameras and you'll be seen as the only person entering or exiting that room and if they even suspect that you might've seen something, they will force you to testify them."

"Not if they can't find me." I pointed out. With unsure confidence, I stepped forward myself. "Make us go away." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you have someone who can give us different names- different lives; just send us off and you'll never hear from us again."

"And what if they find you?" He asked. "Then you'll have to testify to what you saw."

"I swear that I won't."

"And if they take away your daughter?" He asked and I stilled. "Can you still swear that you won't testify? No, the way I see it, it's simply, really." Edward insisted. "Either you marry me so I can be sure you won't testify about what you saw, or I put a bullet in your head. Keep in mind that I already promised your daughter that I was going to be her new daddy and I'd rather not break my promise." I froze and I couldn't help the tears that came to my eyes. "Isabella," Edward said, putting a hand under my chin. "This is the best option for everyone; I can protect you and Elizabeth, give you two everything you want and need. Your little girl would practically be a princess."

"And in return?" I asked. "What would you want?" His hand fell from my face and stroked the side of my neck.

"Other than a mother for my children," He had kids? "Nothing that you won't eventually give me." Dropping his hand from my neck, Edward turned around and headed towards the door. "I'll be in the car. You should go pack a bag; we don't want to miss our flight."

"Our flight?" I questioned. "To where?" Opening the door, Edward looked back at me and gave me another smirk.

"To our wedding."

* * *

I didn't have much to pack; just the photos of Elizabeth I had, my clothes, toiletries, and my cash. I didn't even have enough to fill up my suitcase.

After I was finished, Edward's goon came and got my bag and I went to Elizabeth's room where I found her showing Rosalie the few dolls she had.

Despite the fact that I didn't make much, I still tried to give my daughter the best childhood I could; whenever I had extra cash and nothing I needed it for, I usually put it with my emergency cash, but tried to use a few dollars to buy her a new toy or movie.  
The toys I bought her sat on the floor in the corner of her room with her second-hand doll house that had once been mine. A pink shag rug covered more of the hardwood floor and her purple bed sat in the middle of the room underneath a canopy that I made with the thin lace curtains that had been hanging over the windows when we first moved in. The short bookshelf covered in faded white paint, which I had found on the side of the road, was covered every sticker that Elizabeth had been able to get her hands on and had dozens of children's books stuffed into the shelves- books that I had stolen from the library. The small lampshade that I had put over the orange ceiling light bulb made stars cover the walls whenever it was turned on. Elizabeth's bedroom my favorite room in the entire house.

Knocking on the doorframe, both Elizabeth and Rosalie's attention was brought to me. "Sweetie, you're supposed to be packing." Instead of defending herself or giggling to distract me like she usually did, Elizabeth rushed to me, doll in hand, and I bent down enough to pick her up and held her on my hip.

"Look!" She showed me her doll- a cheap, knock-off Barbie that I had gotten from the pharmacy around the corner. "Ms. Rosalie looks like Nessie!" Nessie was the doll.

"Yeah, she does." I nodded as Rosalie stood from the bed. "But you're still supposed to be packing." Sensing that we needed to be alone, Rosalie left the room with only a little wave to Elizabeth. Once she was gone, I let down Elizabeth who rushed over to her dresser to pull out her clothes, abandoning Nessie on the floor.

"Mommy?" I looked to Elizabeth as she dumped her folded clothes into her small rolling suitcase.

"Yeah, sweetie?"

"Is Mr. Edward gonna be my new daddy?" She asked. The question was so innocent, but yet- at the same time- made my stomach turn.

"...Sort of." I told her. "We're, uh...we're gonna get married and then, yeah, I guess he'll be your stepdad." Elizabeth grinned and the sight of her two missing teeth made me smile. She was so adorable.

"Can I be the flower girl!?" She squealed. "Like at daddy's wedding!?" How the hell was I supposed to answer that.

"Uh, it's not that kind of wedding, honey." I gave her a smile. "But don't worry because your birthday's coming up and we can do anything you want; if you really want to be a flower girl, you can be for your birthday." I was caught off guard as she squealed again and threw her arms around me. She was only a few inches above three feet, so she only came up to the top of my thighs.

"I'm gonna go tell Ms. Rosalie!" My first instinct was to stop her- to keep her here with me, but I let her go. There was no way I'd trust these people- ever, but I wanted Elizabeth to be happy. She was making quick friends with the blonde and I couldn't take that away from her. That didn't stop every bone in my body from urging me to grab Elizabeth and leave through the back door. I was sure Edward had someone there.

I finished packing Elizabeth's bag before zipping it up and pushing down the handle. I took a minute to look around the room; when I started working at the Cyprus and looking around for better paying jobs, I had fantasized about buying this house. I mean, it wasn't in the best neighborhood- but it was far from being the worst, plus Elizabeth had friends here and people who were always willing to watch her without the promise of money. I had imagine a ten year old version of her complaining that she was too old for a princess room; a twelve year old version of her in her bedroom with her new best friends as they giggled and looked at a Cosmo they didn't know I knew they had. I had imagined a fourteen year old version of her feeling nervous on her first day of high school, afraid that she wouldn't fit in; a sixteen year old version of her yelling how she hated me and how I was so unfair because I wouldn't let her go to an unchaperoned party or get her bellybutton pierced, or whatever it was that she wanted. Finally, I had imagined my little girl, now eighteen years old, wearing dark blue graduation gown from the high school from two blocks away as she got ready to graduate and another Elizabeth, the same age, hugging me as I bribed her to stay home another year before heading off to college.

I had imagined Elizabeth's entire life in this house- in this room. It shouldn't have been so easy to leave- especially when I knew where we were going and what kind of family I was pulling my daughter into.

So, with one last look around the room, I picked up Elizabeth's bag and totted it to the door where I switched off the light; extinguishing the stars on the walls.

* * *

"So, you never did actually tell me where we're going." I pointed out.

We were now on a plane- a private jet I had found out when I had gotten inside. There was no commercial plane in the world that had a U-shaped couch in the middle with a square coffee table that a chess table built in. There were two tables against the walls of the plane in front of either side of the couch, each which three chairs- oh, and i almost forgot the fireplace. Yeah, I know. There were two doors that led to the back of the plane. I assumed one had to be a bather, but I didn't ask about the other.

Elizabeth sat on the U-shaped couch with Rosalie, pretending she could play chess. In the past hour, I had seen her make about a hundred illegal moves. I think she was just having fun knocking over Rosalie's pieces. I expected the blonde to get annoyed or, at least, frustrated, but she seemed to have a never ending supply of patience.

Edward and I sat at one of the tables. I had take the chair that faced away from the cockpit so I cold watch Elizabeth. Edward had taken the seat across from me since, apparently, we had things to talk about and I had things to sign. One of those things happened to be adoption papers for Elizabeth. I knew Edward expected me to fight him on that, but I didn't; I just signed the paper and gave it back. I didn't know how he'd get a signature from Elizabeth's deadbeat, piss-poor excuse for a father and I didn't care.

"My family's private island." He didn't even take his eyes off of a paper he was reading. I raised an eyebrow as he handed it over to me.

"Your family has a private island?" I asked as I picked up a pen and looked over the paper. I resisted the urge to snort when I saw what it was. He wanted access to my bank accounts? Well, he was welcome to the five dollars and twenty-seven cents inside. I signed my name as he answered.

"Technically, it belongs to my mother." He specified as I handed the paper back. "My father bought it for her as a gift for their second date." My eyes widened.

"Well, the first one must've gone very well." He handed me another paper; Medical power of attorney. "What the hell is this?"

"Isabella," Edward said calmly, mistaking my confusion for anger. "Everything you're signing today will only benefit you and El-"

"No, I know that." I told him before waving the paper a bit. "But I literally have no idea what the hell a medical power of attorney is." He seemed relieved that I wasn't about to pitch a tantrum and a bit...was that worried?

"A medical power of attorney is the same thing as a power of attorney." He explained. "It means that I make all your medical decisions when you can't." Oh, that wasn't too bad. If it wasn't Edward, then it'd probably go to my ex and I wasn't going to give that piece of shit control of my life- not again.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked once he took back the paper. He didn't even look at me.

"I already told you why."

"I'm serious, Edward." He finally looked away from his papers and to me. "I know that this isn't the first time that you've run into a woman in...your line of work, so don't give me that _'I don't want to shoot a woman'_ BS." I said. "There's a reason that you're doing all this; marrying me, protecting Elizabeth and I want to know why."

Edward stared at me for a long time- not long enough for me to get worried, but long enough for Rosalie to notice. She looked like she was about to get up from her spot when Edward finally said something.

"Isabella," He began, quietly. "In my _line of work_ , the women I come across are prostitutes, whores, and gold diggers. People who would go to the feds with everything they knew if it meant they'd get a nice payday."

"And you don't think I wouldn't?"

"That's yet to be decided." He replied. "But I do think that you're a good person and a good mother." My eyes immediately went to Elizabeth who was still playing her game of full contact chess. "I know you-"

"You don't know anything about me." I interrupted.

"I know you would do anything if it meant protecting Elizabeth," He said. "Including beating her father half to death with a tire iron." My eyes snapped away from Elizabeth and to him. How did he know that? "I also know that you wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your daughter." He said. "Like talking to the police about what you saw."

"How do you know about that?" I breathed as my eyes watered. Why was I crying? How did he know that? He didn't answer. "Edward, how did you know that?"

"Do you honestly think I'd marry a woman and know nothing about her?" He asked and I felt a tear fall down from my eye. "My people knew almost everything there was to know about you before I even picked up Elizabeth from her babysitter. Mrs. Cope is a lovely woman by the way." I didn't know what to say. Who could possibly know what to say to that? Thankfully, I was saved from even having to think of what to say to him.

"Mommy!" Elizabeth called and Edward pulled out his pocket square and held it out to me.

"Dry your eyes." I quickly took the silk cloth and wiped at my eyes just as Elizabeth appeared next to me.

"Mommy," She said once more and I gave her a weak smile. "We can see the water from the windows!" She exclaimed before looking to Edward. "My other daddy was s'posed to take us to see the water on his boat, but he must'a forgot."

"Well, that's a shame." Edward told her with a warm smile as I tried to get myself together. "I guess I'll just have to take you on my boat." I thought it was impossible, but Elizabeth only seemed to get even more excited.

"Mommy, Mr. Edward has a boat!" She exclaimed before pulling said man from his seat. She was deceptively strong for a four year old whenever she got excited. "Come look at the water with me, Mr. Edward!" Getting up, Edward allowed himself to be pulled away. Almost immediately, Rosalie took his spot.

"How are you doing?" She asked.

I sighed put down the pocket square. "Not to be rude, but how do you think I'm doing? Not even ten hours ago, I saw someone get shot in the head, then my daughter was kidnapped, then I was told that I had to marry her kidnapper or get a bullet in my head."

"Right, stupid question." She sighed. I looked over to Edward and Elizabeth by the window and Rosalie spoke again. "If it makes you feel better, my brother isn't doing this just to do it." She told me. "Everything he's ever done in his life is extremely calculated and he never does anything that would put our family at risk. He's not just doing this because it's easy, he's doing it because it's necessary. Plus, at least, this way you can give your daughter a new life- a better life away from the people who want to hurt you and- by extension- her..." I said nothing and she continued. "Like her uncle."

"Does everyone know about that?" I demanded. Rosalie gave me a sheepish smile.

"Most information is shared in our family, but only to people who need to know."

"And you needed to know that my ex-boyfriend is brain dead because I beat him with a tire iron?" I asked and she nodded. "Why?"

"Because, your ex's brother has been after you ever since and that was, how long ago?" She asked. "Last year? If he's looking hard enough, he will eventually realize who you're married to and if he goes after you, it means going after Edward. You should be flattered," She insisted as she stood up and I raised an eyebrow. "He obviously thinks you're worth it."

* * *

The plane landed four hours later, right around three and Rosalie whisked me away into the large, white and gray paneled house that looked more like a private resort where there were dozens of people rushing around with flowers, dishes, and decorations. I tried to get Elizabeth to come with me when Rosalie forced me upstairs, but she decided that she wanted to play in the ocean. I had hoped that Rosalie would go with her, but instead she had called out for someone named Jessica and a few moments later, a large breasted, fake blonde wearing a gray and white maids uniform appeared out of nowhere and Rosalie told her to watch Elizabeth outside.

"I do not want my daughter alone with that woman." I hissed at Rosalie as she sat me down in a chair. We were in a large bedroom that was mostly white with a window-wall facing the backyard of the house, letting in tons of light.

"Elizabeth will be fine," Rosalie insisted as she pushed me back down into the chair I tried to get up from.

"I don't know her!" I said getting up, only to be pushed down again.

"Jessica has worked for my family for years." She argued and I scoffed. _Jessica_ didn't even look old enough to drink- let alone take care of the one person in the world I actually cared about. "And now is not the time to worry about Elizabeth." Rosalie said. "Everything for the wedding will be ready in less than four hours and everyone will be here in half that, so I don't have much time to get you ready." I blinked at her as she went over to the intercom by the door and pressed a button on it. "Rebecca, I need the package I ordered and send the prep team up- oh, and tell Rachel that if she isn't done with that dress in thirty minutes I will drown her in the pool."

"I never agreed to a wedding." I pointed out as Rosalie made her way back to me.

"Yes, you did. I would know, I was there."

"No," I shook my head. "I agreed to marry Edward. I figured we'd just sign a marriage and send it in."

"Well, that's not happening." She told me, bluntly. "Edward's parents don't know about you or your...situation. They didn't even know that he was getting married until I called them before we got on the plane. They're under the impression that you and Edward have been seeing each other in secret and planned to marry that way to."

"You're shitting me." She shook her head. "Fuck my life."

Uncharacteristically of me, I just sat there and didn't complain about whatever the hell Rosalie was putting on my face or the people who were scrubbing the hell out of my feet or the woman who was yanking at my hair and drowning me in spray. They surrounded me for almost an hour-plucking, pulling, waxing, rubbing, and lathering- before I was finally finished. The woman who had been making my dress for the past six hours, Rebecca, hung it on the back of the bathroom door, but I didn't put it on. I had no idea what I was doing- I had no idea what I wanted to do; there was no way I wanted to marry a man I had just met, but I did want the life he could provide for me and Elizabeth. I didn't want a wedding, but I didn't want to deprive my little girl, who had rushed into the room a half hour before in a knee length princess dress with a giant ivory bow on the back, of being a flower girl. I didn't want to be here, but I also didn't want to leave.

"What the hell am I doing?" I groaned, letting my face fall into my hands. Rosalie had threatened to kill me if I messed up my makeup, but I didn't really care about that at the moment.

"I hope you're not getting cold feet." I picked up my head to see that Edward had silently slipped into the room. I'd be lying if I said that he wasn't tip-toeing the line between sexy and handsome in his expensive tuxedo.

"Nope," I sighed. "Just realizing that I'm a fucking idiot." He didn't say anything so I continued. "I was stupid enough to stay late at work and ended up watching someone get shot in the head, then I agreed to marry a man I didn't know so that he wouldn't kill me and leave my kid and orphan, and now I'm starting to realize that I have no idea what the fuck I'm getting myself into."

Edward said nothing for a few minutes and I began to think that he had heard nothing I said. "Say something." I ordered.

"You curse a lot when your frustrated." He noted and I glared at him. "Fine, you wanna know what I think?"

"Not really, but I feel like you're gonna tell me anyways." I threw out.

"I think you're over thinking this." I scoffed.

"How can I possibly over think marrying into the fucking mob?" He snorted. "What?"

"We don't exactly call it the mob, _Cigno_ ."

"Fine then," I shrugged. "I'm marrying into a Gentlemen's club. Is that better, your highness?" Edward walked over to me, hands in pocket, before sitting down on the bed next to me.

"I wouldn't have killed you." He said and I looked at him. "I don't like killing women, so I make it a point only to do it when necessary. Your death wasn't."

"Then why are we getting married?" I asked. "And please don't give me some bullshit answer about seeing something special in me."

"You want the truth?" I nodded. "It's because of Elizabeth."

I honestly hadn't been expecting that. "Elizabeth?" He nodded. "You went all soft because of my four year old?"

"My parents adopted me." He said, startling me. "I was only two years old when Carlisle made a house call to my father." I didn't both asking _Carlisle who?_ because I already knew exactly who he was talking about. "You see, my father was in debt up to his eyeballs and Carlisle was willing to forgive it all- he was ready to, that is, before he found out that the money my father asked from him was going towards liquor and the race track. So Carlisle killed him, but he saw something in me and took me home to his wife and other two sons."

"What about your mother?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"I never knew her." He shook his head. "When he felt that I was old enough, Carlisle told me the truth about her; that she had abandoned me and my father after she shot up for the first time. He found her in a crack house in Tampa when he went looking to tell her what had happened to my father. He offered to help her out; give her a job and a place to stay so she could raise me, but she wasn't interested. She came back though," He told me. "When I was five years old. She didn't come for me though, she wanted money."

"So Carlisle killed her, too?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Esme did." I hadn't been expecting that.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked quietly after a few moments.

Edward was quiet himself before he answered. "Because," He began. "Carlisle never told me what he saw in me the day he killed my father, just that he hoped that one day I would see it in someone else one day and I did. I saw in Elizabeth what my father saw in me."

"And what's that?"

"...potential." He answered. "Elizabeth has the potential to be something great- something amazing. Carlisle knew that I would never amount to anything if he just left me fatherless and put me in the system, but with Elizabeth...I know that she can only flourish into the woman she's going to be if she has you."

"So all of this," I gestured around the room, mostly at the dress hanging on the bathroom door. "Marrying me, bringing me into your crazy, mess up world...that's all because you want Elizabeth to be the best person she can be?"

His smug grin was back. "Well, you have something to do with it, too." He assured me and I rolled my eyes. He wanted to sleep with me and give my daughter a future, how noble.

"Get out," I ordered and he raised an eyebrow. "I have to put on my dress an I don't need you here bothering me."

* * *

The dress, thank God, wasn't at all what I had expected Rosalie to force me into; it was an ivory mermaid dress that wasn't too tight and flared out at the middle of my thigh into a long train of lace. The sleeves exposed my bare shoulders and were nothing but pure lace all the way down to my wrists and there were a dozen or so button in the back that started a few inches down my back and went all the way to the middle of my butt. My hair was in a simple bun so that my veil, which was edged with lace, could be stuck in with a comb. I wasn't going to lie, I felt like a princess and the gasp of awe that my daughter gave when she saw me for the first time only made me smile.

"Alright," Rosalie said, kneeling down so she was eye level with Elizabeth. I was surprised that she could move in the tight, red maxi dress she wore. "Everyone knows what they're doing, right?" We were downstairs now, just behind the open doors that led to the backyard where five dozen people were seated and waiting for me to walk down the aisle that my daughter had yet to litter with ivory rose petals which would match the bouquet Rosalie was holding.

Elizabeth nodded and Rosalie gave her a smile. "Alright, I'm gonna go now and you can come out when the music starts." Elizabeth gave her a thumbs up and Rosalie handed me my bouquet before she went to leave out of the doors, but I stopped her.

"Rosalie," She turned back. "Thank you."

She gave me a smile. "No thanks necessary." She insisted. "Giving you a nice wedding was the least I could do considering everything that you've been through just today. Plus, we're about to be family." She pointed out. "And you do just about anything for family." Then she disappeared through the doors only to com right back a second later. "Where is he?!" I hoped she wasn't talking about Edward.

"Who?"

"My nephew- Edward's son, Leo." She answered. "He's the ring bearer and I totally forgot about him." Then she rushed past me, holding the bottom of her dress before rushing down the hall and disappearing through the door. I looked down to Elizabeth who looked up at me in confusion. I just shook my head.

A moment later, Rosalie rushed back through the door, but she wasn't alone. This time, she was holding the hand of a young boy who was dressed in a small black suit. He couldn't have been any older than six or seven with Edward's reddish brown hair and his bright green eyes.

"Say hi to Bella, Leo." Rosalie ordered as she pulled him past me.

"Hi, Bella!" He gave me a wave right before Rosalie pulled him out of the door. So...that happened.

"Mommy," I looked down to see Elizabeth looking up at me. "Do you love Mr. Edward like you loved my other daddy?" How the hell was I supposed to answer that? There was no way in hell I could ever love Edward and Elizabeth didn't need to know that I hated her father.

"Uh," I bent down as much as I could without getting on my knees. "I really, really, really like Mr. Edward." I settled on. "And he loves you, so that's all that matters, okay?" She nodded and I planted a kiss on her cheek just as the music started. "That's your cue sweetie." Pressing a kiss to my lips, Elizabeth rushed out of the doors. It was only a second later that I heard a dozen different _aww's_ from outside.

"Okay, Bella." I stood up. "You can do this; this is for Elizabeth, this is for your life...this is for you." That seemed to do the trick because I had no trouble stepping out of the doors just as the wedding march sounded on violins.

It was hard walking down the aisle at such a slow pace when all I wanted to do was run and get everything over with. For some reason, a reason I couldn't tell you, I ended up making eye contact with almost every person in a row seat- not that I wanted to. Most of them were scrutinizing me; there was a red haired woman in the fifth row in a skin tight, revealing animal print dress who was full out glaring at me for a reason I couldn't figure out, that is, until I saw her eyes flick down the aisle to Edward and she practically began salivating. When she looked back for me, I fought the urge to stick my tongue out at her. Instead, I simply turned my eyes forward and continued walking.

It seemed like a century had passed before I got to Edward. He held out a hand to me and I took it before turning back to where Rosalie stood to hand her my bouquet. She took it with an encouraging smile before sitting down next to a mountain of a man I assumed was her husband or boyfriend. Turning back to Edward, he leaned down to kiss me on the cheek.

"Breathe," He instructed and it was only then I realized I had been holding my breath. I was sure that it was due to cleaning disgusting hotel room that I could hold my breath for a full minute before passing out.

"We gather here to unite these two people in marriage." The priest began as Edward stood straight. "Their decision to marry has not been entered into lightly-" I resisted the urge to snort. This had, honestly, been one of the hardest decisions of my life. "And today they publicly declare their private devotion to each other. The essence of this commitment is the acceptance of each other in entirety, as lover, companion, and friend." While I looked at Edward, I couldn't help but get stuck on his eyes. How in the world were they so green? "A good and balanced relationship is one in which neither person is overpowered nor absorbed by the other, one in which neither person is possessive of the other, one in which both give their love freely and without jealousy." There was no way that applied to us. Edward had all the power in this relationship- if it could be called that- and we both knew it. "Marriage, ideally, is a sharing of responsibilities, hopes, and dreams. It takes a special effort to grow together, survive hard times, and be loving and unselfish."

The priest looked from me to Edward. "Do you both pledge to share your lives openly with one another, and to speak the truth in love? Do you promise to honor and tenderly care for one another, cherish and encourage each other, stand together, through sorrows and joys, hardships and triumphs for all the days of your lives?"

"We do." We both chorused.

"Do you pledge to share your love and the joys of your marriage with all those around you, so that they may learn from your love and be encouraged to grow in their own lives?"

"We do." The priest beckoned forward the little boy who stood behind Edward- his son Leo who held the rings. I was sure that if I looked behind me, that's where Elizabeth would be.

"May these rings be blessed as a symbol of your union." He said as Edward and I both picked one up from the small pillow. "As often as either of you look upon these rings, may you not only be reminded of this moment, but also of the vows you have made and the strength of your commitment to each other. Edward, please repeat after me...I, Edward Anthony Cullen, promise to love and support you ,Isabella, and live each day with kindness, understanding, truth, humor, and passion. With this ring I thee wed."

"I, Edward Anthony Cullen," Edward began. "Promise to love and support you ,Isabella, and live each day with kindness, understanding, truth, humor, and passion. With this ring I thee wed." Gently taking my hand, he slid the simple silver ring on my finger.

"Isabella, please repeat after me ... I, Isabella Marie Swan, promise to love and support you, Edward, and live each day with kindness, understanding, truth, humor, and passion. With this ring I thee wed."

"I, Isabella Marie Swan, promise to love and support you, Edward, and live each day with kindness, understanding, truth, humor, and passion. With this ring I thee wed." I took Edward's hand, I pushed the ring onto his finger. It fought me a little bit, but I got it on there.

The priest continued. "Go now in peace and live in love, sharing the most precious gifts you have- the gifts of your lives united. And may your days be long on this earth. I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

I stepped forward and Edward's hand slipped behind my back before he pressed his lips to mine. My arms went around his neck as everyone clapped. I only forced myself to pull away when I felt two little arms around me and looked down to see Elizabeth was hugging me. She grinned up at me and I couldn't help but smile back.


	3. Travel Plans

"Okay, now the groom and his brother."

It had only been half an hour since the wedding ceremony, but we hadn't gone to the reception yet. According to Rosalie, it would begin to get dark soon, so the photographer who had been hired for the wedding wanted to get some photos in before he lost all of his light.

At the moment, Edward was taking a photo with his younger brother, Jasper who I had almost mistaken for a serial killer I saw on _Criminal Minds_ once. He had already taken a photo of him and Rosalie together, and the picture of the three siblings together. He already done all the photos I was needed for, and I was grateful; I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I was now legally married. Elizabeth, on the other hand, had childhood ignorance on her side as she skipped around Leo throwing the rest of her flowers at him. He didn't seem to mind though, if the manic giggling that came from him was any indication. I was glad, though; even though this life probably wouldn't be all rainbows and kittens, Elizabeth would still have a friend to entertain her. _'A brother.'_ A voice in the back of my head corrected. _'Edward sent his lawyer off with the adoption papers. She's **his** daughter now.'_

"Shut up." I told myself, gaining the attention of Rosalie who stood next to me.

"Did you say something?" She asked and I shrugged.

"I was just wondering about something Edward said on the plane ride over here." I lied, although what I was thinking of had been weighing on my mind lately. Rosalie turned to her body towards me, just enough to say that she was listening. "He said that he wanted a mother for his children." I told her. "But, I've only seen one kid."

"Other than Leo, Edward has two other children." She told me. "Benjamin and Carlie."

"Where are they?" I asked, wondering why they were absent from their fathers wedding, and she sighed.

"Benjamin is with his mother Kebi in Egypt." She answered. "Edward got full custody when they divorced, but he lets Ben go and stay with his mother every summer for a couple of months until the three weeks leading up to school."

"And Carlie?"

"Carlie's at summer camp." She told me. "This year it's for art, I think."

I raised an eyebrow. "This year?"

She shrugged. "Carlie's a bit of a...free spirit. She loves everything, but- so far- there hasn't been an activity that can keep her attention for long."

"Well, what about Leo's mother?" I questioned, crossing my arms. "Where's she?"

"She's dead." Rosalie said, so cold that I got whiplash from the change of emotion. I was also a bit afraid to ask what happened. "Not to be rude, or anything, but I would suggest you not bring her up around Edward. He gets...emotional when he talks about Tanya." For some reason, I didn't think of tears when I thought of Edward being emotional.

"Now the children." The photographer called and neither child hesitated before rushing over to Edward. Elizabeth got there first, as she had been unable to stay away from the camera for too long and had been staring straight into the lens when the photographer called for her.

There were more people at the reception than there were at the ceremony.

"The people at the ceremony were just the people who could get here at short notice." Rosalie told me. "These are the people who got here after."

I was sitting at the head table with Edward. Since we didn't have a wedding party, the table was a small one, but I didn't mind. I didn't feel like making small talk.

"I wasn't expecting this many people to be here." Edward admitted from beside me. "But, I suppose, I did give Rosalie free rein over my wedding. I don't think I even know half of these people."

"They're ass kissers." I said without thinking and Edward looked at me in curiosity. "I just...I asked Rosalie the same thing." I told him. "She said that most of these people are just ass kissers who want to make a good impression on your new wife." Edward shook his head, but I could see the small grin he was hiding and it made me smile to. I was sincerely hoping that this wasn't a rare thing- him not being a psychopath threatening to put bullets in people's heads.

After a few moments, our attention was pulled away by the sound of clinking, like a force being tapped against a champagne flute- also known as something someone does when they want to make a speech.

Looking around, my eyes landed on a woman who was standing beside one of the tables in the front. Her caramel brown hair was down in elegant waves and she wore a long light grayish purple dress embellished with diamonds which were scattered around the top. Her arms were covered by a long shawl and she had a warm smile on her face. Even in her fifties, Esme Cullen was a embodiment of perfection.

"Excuse me," She said into the microphone in her hand. It only took a second for everyone to get quiet. "As most of you know, my name is Esme and I'm Edward's mother. Now, I wish I had something nice to say, but no one told me that my son was getting married until a couple hours ago." I felt Edward tense beside me as everyone laughed lightly. "While I can't claim to know anything about their relationship, I can say that I know my son, and if he has found love with Isabella then I know that what he has with her must be truly special. Never in his life has my son made a decision lightly and he has stood by every decision he has made, even if everyone else doubted it." Looking away from the sea of tables she looked to Edward and I. "So here is to Isabella; the woman my son has chosen to spend the rest of his foreseeable future with. I look forward to getting to know you." She held up her glass and every else- excluding me- held up a glass in turn. "To Isabella."

"To Isabella." Everyone else chorused before drinking. I was going to be sick.

The wedding wasn't over until midnight; that's when everyone who had been invited to stay were getting settled into their rooms at the house, and everyone else began boarding their private planes to get off the island.

I didn't know what Edward was expecting for our wedding night, but I roomed with Elizabeth- or, at least, I planned to. Apparently Edward frequented the island with his children, so much that they each had their own specially designed bedrooms. His oldest children, Carlie and Benjamin, had shared a bedroom when they were younger and now, apparently, it was perfect for Elizabeth and Leo. I didn't want to spoil her fun, so I went back to my room. Thankfully, Edward wasn't there waiting.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, it was because the sun was shining straight into my eyes. Seeing as I didn't have to work, but knew that it would be impossible to fall back asleep now that I was awake, I got up. Normally this wouldn't be a problem; if I was home, I'd go into the kitchen and make breakfast for me and El, but I was in a new house filled with people I didn't know who had expectations and rules that I didn't know. Luckily, I didn't have to wait long.

I had just finished making my bed when my door was thrown open and Elizabeth and Leo rushed inside before hopping my my aforementioned bed. "Elizabeth Renee..."

"Mommy, we need your help." Elizabeth said before I could find it in me to chastise her.

"Alright," I put my hands on my hips in my most intimidating mom stance. "I'll bite. What do you need?"

"Today is Mr. Edward's first day as my new daddy." She reminded me while Leo nodded on in confirmation beside her. "And I need it to be 'specially special."

"Okay..."

"Dad likes banana and chocolate chip pancakes." Leo supplied hastily. "I'm not supposed to use the stove by myself, though. I'm only six," He added right after as he held up seven fingers. Someone should probably do something about that. "But you can." I wasn't going to say no; I couldn't- not without looking like a monster in front of my new stepson and my daughter, who thought I could do no wrong. Plus, they were trying to do something nice for someone else, wasn't I supposed to encourage things like that? The random page in the parenting book I stole from the library a year ago thought so.

"Okay," I nodded and they both beamed at me. "But you guys have to help. I'm not gonna do all the work if you're gonna take all the credit." Of course Edward would know that a four and seven year old wouldn't be able to make pancakes by themselves, but I didn't want to crush their little plans.

After they helped me remake the bed they messed up, Leo led Elizabeth and me downstairs to the massive, chef's kitchen downstairs. Compared to the rest of the house, it had a bit of a homey feel to it, but- to be fair- while everything was clean and immaculate, it looked like the kitchen had been used dozens of times before. I guess it would've been if Edward brought his children here a lot.

In order to help, Elizabeth and Leo insisted on getting everything I would need to make the pancakes from the industrial size refrigerator, but I stopped them when Elizabeth tried to climb on Leo's shoulders to get the stuff on the top shelf.

"Aright, guys," I said once they were seated at the island which faced the stove. "Here's what we need in the bowl. One cup of flour," Leo picked up the scooper I found in the drawers and dug it into the bag of flour before dumping it in the bowl. He, somehow, managed to spill half of it so we had to do more. "A tablespoon of sugar," I watched Elizabeth pick up the wrong spoon and she put the sugar in before I realized it was the wrong spoon. I figured a bit of sugar wouldn't make much difference. "Two teaspoons of baking powder- No, El, the other spoon." Elizabeth put in the right amount after I showed her the right spoon. "And the small spoon of salt...great job!"

"Okay, now, in the other bow, we need the egg that I beat and the cup of milk." Leo and Elizabeth both put in the respective ingrediants and I gqave them a thumbs up. "The glass of vegetable oil." There was no way I was trusting either of them with that. I had already poured a bit in the glass. "And the bananas you guys mashed up. Now mix it."

"Can we do it with our hands?" Leo asked. "They're clean, 'member?" I honestly didn't think Edward would be happy about the mess to be made if they accidentally spun the bowl too fast, but I was certain I could clean it up before he saw it.

"Sure." After they mixed it up and poured the mixture into the flour bowl, I added in some chocolate chips and let them mix that up with their hands as well. "Okay, now go upstairs and clean up. Then you guys can play for a couple of minutes." I told them as I turned on the griddle that was built into the stove. After getting down from their seats, the two rushed out of the kitchen.

Seeing as pancakes were some of the easiest things to make, I was able to make five out of the batter that Elizabeth and Leo had made. After that was out, I made more batter for regular and chocolate chip pancakes for everyone else. Despite the fact that I had been forced into this marriage doesn't mean I wanted to go through it with Edward's family hating me. Elizabeth didn't deserve that and my mother had always told me that food was a nice peace offering- despite the fact that she nearly burned our house down while making Ramen.

It wasn't long before Leo and Elizabeth came back down the stairs, clean and dressed in different clothes, but I didn't want them making another mess for me to make so I sent Leo to show Elizabeth to whatever room had a TV in it.

After the pancakes were all done and sitting in the wall oven to stay warm, I got started on everything else, knowing that a couple of pancakes wouldn't do anything for anyone.

"I didn't expect anyone to be up." A voice said, startling me. I nearly dropped the bowl of eggs that I was beating when I whirled around as saw none other than Esme Cullen staring back at me from the doorway. She was dressed in a simple pair of pants with a matching sweater over a white top, but she somehow made me feel like Cinderella's ugly stepsister in comparison. Of course these people didn't walk around in their night clothes.

"Oh, um..." I cleared my throat as I sat down the bowl. "Elizabeth and Leo wanted to do something special for Edward, but they can't use the stove." I said as an excuse. _'Excuse?'_ That little voice in my head asked. _'Why do you need an excuse to make breakfast?'_ I had a point, but told myself to shut up anyway.

"I'm usually the first one up." Esme told me as she stepped into the kitchen and I went back to beating my eggs as I tried to remind myself that I didn't do anything wrong. "I always make my family breakfast whenever we come to the island." Oh, I was intruding on traditional territory.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know-" I shook my head, but she held her hand up and I shut up.

"It's okay." She assured me. "I figured that Edward would finally find someone who would replace me one day." I opened my mouth but she kept talking. "Maybe replace was the wrong word. I meant...I knew that he'd find someone to take over." She corrected herself. "To be honest, I'm just glad that it's not Victoria."

"Victoria?" I asked.

"Edward's ex-wife." She supplied going over to the fridge. Apparently, she was helping- or, at least, I figured she was when she took out something wrapped in white paper. I went over to the pan on the stove with my over-beaten eggs. "My granddaughter Carlie's mother. You might've seen her at the wedding yesterday; red hair, hideous taste in clothing, dead eyes, dry humping the photographer." Well, there was no love lost there.

Trying not to sound like I was snooping, I asked, "Why was she there if Carlie wasn't? It doesn't seem like you like her much."

"I don't." She confirmed. "But I didn't make the guest list. My daughter did."

"I didn't invite that whore." Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. Rosalie came shuffling into the kitchen wearing a pair of jeans and a tank top. Behind her was a small woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail who wore a pair of white pants and a sweatshirt that seemed way too big for her. "I delegated that to Alice."

"I didn't invite Lady Bitchiness either." The woman insisted as she and Rosalie seemlessly began helping out without being asked. "She came with James." Rosalie scoffed and shook her head as she started the coffee pot.

"Of course she did." Not even surprised that I was there, Rosalie turned to me to explain. "James is Alice's older brother. He usually doesn't come to things like this."

"Weddings?" I asked.

"Parties." The woman- Alice, corrected. "He's sort of a hermit. He tends to stay to himself. He was probably too nice to say no when Victoria went begging for him to bring her here."

"She's not still here, is she?" I asked. Seeing as how the only words used to describe this woman had been whore, dry humping, and bitchiness, I wasn't eager to be around her and same could obviously been said for her considering how she was looking at me at the wedding.

"No," Alice shook her head from beside me where she was cooking bacon. "James doesn't usually stay for these things- he's shy and her ride." Shoving a small piece of bacon into her mouth, Alice held her hand out to me. "I'm Alice."

"Bella."

The three Cullen women continued to make comfortable small talk with me as we finished making breakfast, for which I was thankful for. Leo and Elizabeth rushed into the kitchen when they heard that we were finished and helped us take everything to the large dining table before rushing upstairs to wake Edward. Esme, Rosalie, and Alice went to wake up their own partners while I went to change into something that wasn't batter covered sleeping shorts. Taking a quick shower, I changed into a pair of jeans and my fathers old Washington Huskies shirt from his college days. After towel drying my hair, I pulled it into a simply ponytail before going back downstairs.

When I got back into the kitchen, everyone was there; Rosalie, Alice, Edward's brother Jasper, the large, muscular man who I had seen shoot Caius Volturi- and children who I hadn't seen before. _'They would have kids you didn't know about.'_ The voice in my head said. _'You literally only met them yesterday.'_

"Shut up." I told myself quietly, but it was loud enough to gain the attention of one of the kids; a smaller boy around three with short black hair wearing Hulk footie Pajamas. Once he saw me, he tugged on Alice's shirt and she lowered her head so he could whisper something to her. A second later her eyes landed on me.

"Bella, what are you doing out there?" She asked before making a 'come' gesture. "Come sit down." There were only a couple of seats available; and all of them on the side of the table nearest me. "This is Alec." She told me before looking down at the little boy who was attached to her side. "Alec, this is your new Aunt Bella. Can you say hi?" He simply gave me a feeble wave before digging his face into Alice's side.

"He's shy." Rosalie explained before gesturing to the two small kids next to her. "This is Colin and Claire." Colin was around twelve with blonde hair and blue eyes while Claire was a completely opposite with curly brown hair and brown eyes. While Claire was thin and willowy, Collin seemed to be on the fast track to turning into his father They both paid me no mind as they continued to eat their pancakes. I couldn't blame them, I was a very good cook and not very modest. Speaking of not being modest...

"Where's Elizabeth?" I asked with a slight worry to my voice that was noticed.

"She and Leo are still upstairs." Esme told me. "I don't know why it's taking them so long to wake up one man." That's when I heard the sound of giggling coming from the hallway.

I turned to see Edward casually walking normally with both Leo and Elizabeth wrapped around his legs while they giggled madly. It amazed me how the very same man who had threatened my life not even a day ago had somehow managed to look non...murderous this morning. "Now, I know." Esme finished with a fond smile. "Edward used to do the same to his father." Where was his father? Yesterday had been his son's wedding day and I hadn't seen him once- not that I was looking. I could go the rest of my life without meeting the man who's face I had seen flash across the TV at night when I was a child, staying up late to watch the news with my dad. "Alright, children. Come sit down." Letting go of Edward's legs, Leo rushed to the table while Elizabeth came to me. When she ran to me, I bent down and picked her up. While I wasn't a petite person, I didn't have an amazing amount of strength. It wouldn't be long before I couldn't pick my little girl up anymore.

The only free seats was one between Alice and Leo on the side of the table near the wall to ceiling windows. One on the other side between Jasper and the free seat at the head of the table. I was assuming that the head of the table spot was reserved for Edward and Elizabeth wanted to sit next to her new daddy, so I was put between Leo and Alice, across from Edward.

"Here!" Withe the table manners of a newborn giraffe, Elizabeth leaned forward on her knees and grabbed a pancake from the smaller stack in the middle of the table before dropping it down on Edward's plate with a _plop._ She beamed at him. "Mommy made these special for you 'cause it's your favorite!"

"We helped!" Leo piped up and Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically. Jasper, who sat on Esme's right, stabbed at one with his fork and brought it to his nose. One sniff was all it took for him to grimace.

"Banana and chocolate chip?" He sounded disgusted as he put back the pancake and Rosalie groaned.

"I don't understand how you can eat those," She shuddered before looking to me. "Edward went off to college when Jasper and I were fourteen. He came back for Thanksgiving and our mother made them every morning until he left again."

"It was a week and a half of hell." Jasper added as he took two plain pancakes for his plate. Everyone else began serving themselves, but Edward was the only one who touched the banana and chocolate chip pancakes.

"She did say there were special for dad," Leo reminded his uncle who stuck his tongue out. Alec giggled from next to his mother.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprise by how normal they all seemed. Somewhere in the back of my mind, when I pictured family dinners, I pictured them all grinning and rubbing their hands while whispering things like "Murder," and "Chaos". There was no point where I pictured Emmett Cullen swiping whipped cream on his daughters nose or Edward smiling at my daughter while helping her cut up her pancakes. The only thing stopping me from being comfortable with these people was knowing what they did for a living and that it wouldn't always be like this.

But I held my tongue; I answered the questions Edward's family asked me and smiled when I knew I was being watched, whether it was by Edward, Elizabeth, or any other member of my new family.

After breakfast was finished, I washed the dishes, forgetting that there was a cleaning staff who were paid to do it. Elizabeth was outside playing with Leo, and her new cousins while Rosalie watched them. Knowing I didn't have to worry about something happening to her while she was out of my sight was a relief and it helped me calm down.

I was putting away the dishes that I had died when I heard a voice speak from somewhere behind me. I nearly dropped the dish, but managed to recover.

"You do realize that we pay people to clean, right?" Gripping the bowl in my hand, I turned around to see Edward standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Letting out a nervous laugh, I nodded.

"I forgot," I admitted, turning around and putting the bowl in the cabinet with the others. "By the time I remembered, I was already done."

"Thank you," He said suddenly and I turned back around to face him. "For what you did for Leo this morning."

The pancakes? "Actually, it was Elizabeth's idea- mostly." I added and he quirked an eyebrow. "She wanted your first day as her 'new daddy' to be special. I want her to be happy and, despite everything happening so fast, knowing that she's had a new dad to replace the old one does that."

"And what about you?" He asked, moving into the kitchen and stopping on the other side of the island. "What would make you happy?"

"Other than the life I had before I saw a man get shot?" I asked. "Knowing that Elizabeth is happy. That's all I ever wanted since I gave birth to her." By the look on Edward's face, I knew he realized that I wouldn't open up that easy. When it came to him and me, there would be no emotions tied into this relationship- I'd make sure of it. I'd do what needed to be done in order to protect my daughter, but I don't think I could ever see Edward Cullen in the way he seemed to think I eventually would. How could someone be attracted- let alone love someone who had threatened to kill me?

"Then what would make her happy?" He asked after a moment.

It wasn't a hard question to answer. "Her birthday's in two days," I told him. "She's always wanted to go to Disney World."

"Don't most kids prefer Disneyland?" I shook my head.

"She did until her babysitter- Mrs. Cope, had her grandchildren over for the weekend a few months ago. They told Elizabeth all about how their mom's new boyfriend took them to Disney World and they stayed in Cinderella's Castle. She begged me to take her, but we never had the money."

"Then Disney World it is." He said and I opened my mouth to question him, knowing that vacations to places like that were booked years in advance, but closed my mouth when I realized he was in the mob. Of course the mob would have connections to Disney World.

Pulling out his phone, Edward left the kitchen leaving me to myself. As he left, I could hear him saying words like "Disney World," and "Tonight,". I couldn't help but feel grateful to him for giving- or, at least, attempting to give Elizabeth the birthday she's always wanted. A small part of me couldn't help but wonder if I could try to love Edward; he was Elizabeth's father now- I wasn't sure if the adoption papers had gone through yet, but I realized quickly that it didn't matter either way; Elizabeth had already claimed him as her father. I knew that giving her the illusion of a happy and loving relationship between Edward and I was all she needed at the moment, but I still wondered if I could ever let it become more. Despite the things he had- allegedly- done and the judgement of him that had already set in stone in my head, I couldn't help but notice what a good father he was to Leo and the father he was trying to be to Elizabeth. I knew that, so far, I had been amenable when it came to the forced marriage and his family, but one day Elizabeth would realize that Edward and I didn't have the textbook happy marriage it seemed we had and I knew that she'd eventually come to the conclusion that I was the only roadblock in making that happen.

"Shut up," I told myself. "She's not even five- and you didn't even want this marriage." I was so confused. How the hell was I supposed to fell or even know what I was supposed to feel? This wasn't exactly an everyday occurrence.

Knowing that Elizabeth was safe with Rosalie, I decided to take my mind of off my predicament by cleaning. The dishes were already done, but I was sure that Elizabeth had already made a mess of her bedroom.

However, Edward seemed to have the same idea- not to clean, but to go up to the bedroom Elizabeth had shared with Leo the night before, because when I was nearing the door I heard him talking on the phone.

"Get it done, Riley." I heard him say. "I don't give a fuck if you can't reserve the suite. Convince them," My heart jumped into my throat, wondering what he meant by that. "No, I don't mean kill them- put Garrett on the phone." He ordered. There was a moment of silence before he said; "Your brother's a fucking idiot...Yeah, I need rooms in Cinderella's Castle for everyone." Silence again. "What do you mean they only have one suite? Who the fuck makes a giant castle in a theme park with only one suite?!" Yeah, I was miffed when I read that online too. "Okay, fine. Just get me the suite at the castle and book a few suites for the rest of the family at whatever place is closest to the castle...Thanks, Garrett- yeah, tell Kate I said 'hi' too. Yeah, my mom still wants pictures of the baby...alright, bye." I decided that it was time to make myself known."

"Were one of your goons really gonna kill someone at Disney World?" Edward looked up from his phone to see me leaning against the door frame of the messy bedroom.

"Riley's harmless," He insisted. "He's a good kid, just a little slow in the head. If I had told him to kill someone at Disney World, he wouldn't have done it...probably." I raised an eyebrow at him. "That was a joke."

"It wad a bad one." I inform him, pushing myself up and walking into the room. "Did you seriously get us the Cinderella Suite? I looked online and the website told me that it was unbookable." Before he could even answer, his phone vibrated and he looked down at the screen.

"Tell that to Garrett," He said.

"What?" I asked. "Did you threaten to put a hit on Mickey Mouse?" He shook his head.

"Nah, apparently offering to foot the bill so they could build another suite in Cinderella's Castle was the easier option." He shook his head before letting his phone slide into his pocket. "But, yeah, we got the suite."

"You should tell Elizabeth."

"You're her mother-"

"And you're her...father." It felt strange, saying those words to someone other than my no good ex. I constantly had to remind him of that fact whenever he refused to take her to daycare, change her pull-up, or even feed her. "She's already got it drilled into her head that I'd do anything to make her happy. This one's yours." An appreciative smile went over his face and he nodded before walking past me and leaving the room. Once I could no longer hear his footsteps, I started picking up the toys that were littered on the floor.

I was almost finished, only needing to pick up a couple of stuffed animals from the floor underneath the window. After grabbing them, I stood up and looked out to the front yard where the room faced out. The house was over a hundred feet away from the shoreline, but I could see Elizabeth in a bright yellow bathing suit splashing around in the water with Claire and Leo. Edward came into view and Elizabeth rushed out of the water before running over the sand to him. He didn't seem to care that she was wet when he picked her up so they were talking face-to-face. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but Elizabeth nodded a couple times before Edward said something else and her face lit up like fireworks on the fourth of July. Throwing her skinny arms around his neck, she hugged him as tight as she could before wiggling down from his arms and rushing towards the house. Knowing that she was probably on her way to find me, I quickly disposed of the toys in the trunk where they had probably started.

I could hear Elizabeth's voice downstairs and she must've passed almost everyone in Edward's family and staff because she squealed "Daddy's taking us to Disney World!" about twenty times before I heard her bare, wet feet padding up the stairs. "Mommy!" She called.

"In here!" I heard her feet slap down the hall before she rushed into the room, jumping at me and I picked her up immediately. "You look happy."

"We're going to Disney World!" She shrieked right in my face. "Daddy's taking us to Disney World!"

"He is?" I feigned ignorance and she nodded enthusiastically. "When are we going?"

"Daddy says we have to leave for a hour-"

"In an hour." I corrected and she nodded.

"That's what I said." She insisted.

"Well, then you should probably go tell everyone else so they can pack."

"I already did," She grinned, thinking that she had become smarter than me. "I told grandma, and Miss Rosalie, and Mister Rosalie-" I stifled a laugh. "And Miss Alice, and Mister Jasper, and everybody else!"

I nodded at her. "That was very smart. Now we just have to pack our bags and go." I put down Elizabeth and she rushed over to the dresser in the room while I got her suitcase from the closet. I didn't know any of the Cullen's staff well, but they were clearly efficient; if it had been left for me to do, it'd probably end up being days before Elizabeth's bags got unpacked.

Elizabeth chatted away while we packed- well, while she threw her clothes in the suitcase and I took them out and re-folded them before packing them back inside. By the time I got her clothes packed up, Leo rushed into the room to pack his own things and Elizabeth insisted we help- which meant me doing all the work- while she and Leo discussed everything they would do once they got to Disney World.

* * *

"Is it safe for them to run around like that?" I asked, watching as Leo ran around with Colin.

We were on the plane once again and I was sitting on the couch with Alice. Elizabeth had gotten Claire to braid her long brow hair near the fireplace while they chatted about princesses and other Disney-esque things. Emmett and Jasper sat together talking on one side of the plane while Edward and his mother sat on the other side. Colin was playing on his mother's phone on the floor while she was on the other end of the couch from us reading a book with Alec while he listened intently, sucking his thumb.

It turned out that Elizabeth and Leo had been the first to finish packing since they had my help and I had been the last out of everyone- despite having less then thirty pieces of clothing. Jasper, however, had been nice enough to carry my bag down while I tried to keep Elizabeth from exploding from excitement.

"It's not like they can do much damage," Alice insisted. "As long as they stay away from the cockpit and don't break anything, I try not to bother them...unless somebody starts crying. So...how long have- had you and Edward been dating before you got married?" She asked suddenly and my eye widened.

"I-uh-" I cleared my throat. "...Just a year- not even that. This was all kind of...sudden." At least I wasn't lying.

"Really?" She asked and I felt myself get even more unsure of my answer. "Edward's not the type of person who rushes into things."

Luckily, I was a master bullshitter. I watched Leo run over to Edward who picked him up and let him sit on his lap as he continued his conversation. "I've been helping him out of his comfort zone," I lied and Alice nodded in understanding.

"I had to do the same with Jasper," She explained. "When I met him, getting him to talk was like pulling a tooth. He still doesn't talk that much now, but it's no longer at the point where you think he's a mute."

"Not to be a bitch, but have you noticed the serial killer thing he's got going on, right?" Her eyes flicked to Jasper and she sighed with a nod.

"I have," She admitted. "And it was really hard to ignore at first, but then I realized that it's only a defense mechanism; no-one messes with you if they think you'll murder them in their sleep." She had a point, but that didn't stop me from eyeing him like he was a lion ready to rip someone's throat out.

"Bella!" Looking away from Alice, I saw Leo rushing over to me with a tablet in his hands. He only just managed to avoid bashing it into his head when he jumped on the couch between me and Alice. Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket. When she saw who it was, she quickly got up. "Work," She explained before walking away.

"Look!" Leo regained my attention and positioned the table so I could see and I saw a photo of two kids. They were both older than Leo; one of them was a boy with tan skin and loose, black curls that went down to his shoulders. He was around twelve or so. The girl looked a little older and had a wildly different appearance; her skin was a few shades away from being considered fair and she had red, coppery hair like Edward's that went further down than the camera could see. "This is Carlie," He pointed at the girl. "And this is Ben; they're my brother and sister,"

"How come you're not in the photo?" I asked.

"What photo?" A voice asked and my eyebrows shot up. Who was that? "Leo, are we frozen again?"

Leo nodded. "We're on the airplane." The photo- which I soon realized was a video- began to glitch as the two figures moved.

"Dad really needs to do something about that," The picture cleared up and I was able to see the two kids are they stared back. "Did it get better?" Carlie asked and Leo nodded. "Good," She looked at me. "Hi,"

"Hello," I said back.

"This is Bella," Leo introduced. "She's our new stepped-mom-"

"Stepmom, Leo." Ben corrected before looking at me. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why did Dad marry you? He said he was never getting married again af-"

"Ben!" Carlie shoved him and he fell off of whatever they were sitting on with an _oomph_. "Sorry about him," She apologized. "He's a caveman."

"Ask her if we're going to Disney World," Ben's voice ordered as he shoved himself back next to her. "We've never been," Isn't going to that place something that all rich people had in common? "We were supposed to go last year but-"

"But we couldn't because someone thought it was a great idea to jump off of the roof into the pool and broke his leg," Carlie interrupted, sending an accusing look to her brother who shrugged.

"You're the one who dared me,"

"I didn't think you would actually do it," The two continued to bicker for, what had to be, at least ten minutes before Elizabeth came over after Claire opted to play with her brother on Rosalie's phone.

"That's Ben and Carlie," Leo pointed them out to her as Elizabeth shoved her away between the two of us. "They're your stepped-brother and sister-"

"Step, Leo." Carlie pushed Ben off of whatever they were sitting on once again as she corrected her brother. "Did you do any of your summer reading?" He shook his head. "You do know that Daddy's gonna force you to, right?" He shrugged and she sighed. Feeling left out, Elizabeth demanded attention.

"Do you know anything about princesses?" She asked suddenly. "Mommy doesn't." I did actually, but I had been too busy packing her clothes to answer her questions.

* * *

Elizabeth and Leo ended up falling asleep halfway through the ride to Florida and were thoroughly cranky when they were woken up, but quickly got over it after they saw that we were at our destination. Since it was only mid afternoon when we landed, the first thing they- and Emmett, who was surprisingly childlike considering I witnessed him shoot a man in the head- wanted was to go on rides. Rosalie pointed out that we still had to get Carlie and Ben who would be meeting us in the lobby of the hotel. When we finally did find them, they barely said hello to me before begging Edward to let "Uncle Emmett" take them on a ride.

"Only if Rosalie goes, too." He answered immediately. "Last time I let you go anywhere alone with him, he ended up in jail and you-" He looked directly as his daughter. "Assaulted a cop." What?!

"How was I supposed to know that it wasn't an all ages casino?" Emmett demanded.

"And how was I supposed to know that that guy was a cop before I bit him?" Carlie asked. She bit him? I looked at Rosalie who returned a look that clearly said not to ask.

"You shouldn't have bitten him in the-" He stopped suddenly when he looked down and saw that Elizabeth had slipped her small hand into his. It made me smile, knowing that she was trying to calm him down. "Just...don't get arrested again," He said and Carlie grinned before she grabbed Emmett's hand and pulled him towards the door. Ben followed and Leo took Elizabeth's free hand.

"C'mon!" She looked at me for permission and I nodded to show her that it was okay. She blew me a kiss before running off with Leo and with Rosalie following after with her own children. Alice, Alec, and Jasper were nowhere to be found and Esme had walked off to make a call, so it was just Edward and me. I looked to see him still watching as the kids ran towards the doors. I couldn't help but notice his attention lingers on Elizabeth.

"She saw you were frustrated," I told and he looked down at me. "Whenever I'm stressing about one thing or another, she always notices and holds my hand to make me feel better. I used to do the same thing with my dad."

"...She's a sweet kid," He said after a moment. "So, we're at Disney World." He pointed out. "The happiest place on Earth and your only responsibility just ran off to play. What're you gonna do now?"

Thankfully, I didn't have to answer that question- not that I even had a clue as to what to answer with. "I've actually booked a place at the spa for Bella and I," We both turned to see that Esme had ended her call and was now only a foot away. "I want to get to know my new daughter-in-law." I looked at Edward with raised eyebrows, but he didn't say anything. "Come along now, sweetheart."

"Actually," Before his mother could even try to pull me away, Edward wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to him. "I have a few things to talk to Bella about first. Why don't you go ahead and she'll meet you later?" Esme gave him an incredulous look, but didn't say anything before she turned and walked away.

Edward steered me towards the private elevator that most likely led to the exclusive Cinderella suite. "What exactly do we need to talk about?"

"Well," We stopped and Edward pressed the up button. "I have no doubt that my mother is going to grill you for ever tidbit of information about our relationship that she can get, and seeing as there's not actually any to tell her about, I figured now is probably a good time to get our stories straight." Right.

The elevator doors opened and I stepped in before Edward did the same.

* * *

"What's my middle name?"

Two hours. That's how long Edward had kept me in the suite, drilling the facts about our fictitious relationship into my head.

I had insisted that we stick as close to the truth as possible which is how we ended up with our story; Edward and I met at the hotel where I worked and he pursued me- "So my mother won't think you're a gold digger"- relentlessly with little success- "Do you want them to think you're easy?"- before I finally agreed to have coffee with him. We dated for exactly ten months before he proposed and I said yes. We had planned to elope on Isle Esme, but Rosalie had found out and insisted on having a wedding. I had all that down, but now Edward insisted on quizzing me on every single detail.

"Anthony, what's mine?" I asked back. If he was going to quiz me, I was going to do the same to him.

"Marie, after your grandmother." Know-It-All. "Where and when did I propose?"

"At my house, the first time you met Elizabeth." I answered. "When did I finally say yes?"

"Three days later when Elizabeth asked if I was going to be her new father." He replied. "What are the names of my birth parents?"

"Edward Masen Sr. and Siobhan Smith." Edward didn't ask anything else after that and I prayed there weren't anymore questions. It's not that I didn't know the answers, it was more like I got tired of answering them over and over again. "Are we done?"

"...Yes," He sighed. "I'm just worried that my mother won't believe you; you are a notoriously bad liar." He wasn't wrong.

"Well, it's not like she can fact check with anyone other than you," I pointed out as I stood up, but he still looked concerned. "Stop worrying. It makes me nervous."

"Sorry," He apologized. "You shouldn't keep my mother waiting." I wanted to point out that he was the one who had kept me away for two hours, but resisted. Instead, I just sent him- what I hoped was- a reassuring look before leaving the hotel room.

I won't lie, I did get ridiculously lost in the huge hotel- somehow ending up in the staff room- before someone finally took pity and led me to the spa. The locker room was empty so I was able to quickly get undressed and put on the fluffy white robe without anyone looking at my bare body before going out to the main area. There were dozens of men and women milling around the large room and even more settled into the large pool of mud that was in the middle of the room. Thankfully, Esme was seated on one of the loungers near the large wall of windows.

A woman passed me holding a tray of champagne and I quickly grabbed one before chugging it. It was sweet and burned a bit on the way down, but I just shook it off. "Let's do this."


End file.
